Editorial: Restriction on women’s dressing punitive

The news about the restriction of women’s dress in Bor Town, Jonglei State, is so disturbing and embarrassing.

A video clip showing a woman who was reportedly undressed went viral on social media yesterday.

According to sources on the ground, the woman was beaten for indecent dressing. This is not the first time women have been harassed for indecent dressing.

On October 29, complaints emerged from young women who were reportedly being harassed by police officers for “wearing indecently’’.

Jonglei State police spokesperson Daniel Majak confirmed the crackdown on indecent dressing to Eye Radio. 

“Short skirts partially expose most parts of the body of the woman, as if she is dressed half-naked and moving on a public road. That does not show any good moral value, “he said.

He added: “When a woman is caught putting on a short skirt, she is advised by the security personnel to go and change. That was the decision taken in one of the security meetings.”

Several of the unnamed people who were found wearing short skirts or trousers reported that their clothes were torn and they were left half-naked.

While this exercise seems to have ended on Thursday, another fresh report emerged from Jonglei State of a woman who seemingly looked undressed, though the video footage did not show the act. 

Nevertheless, whether the indecent act took place or not, the ongoing exercise to crack down on indecent dressing by the authorities in Jonglei State is a violation of women’s rights. It is just a month ago when we celebrated International Women’s Day, and it was on this very occasion that we pledged to protect women and not interfere with their rights. 

This editorial piece is not intended to support any inappropriate behaviour by the women, but it calls on the authorities to find an amicable way to resolve the matter. There is a need for Jonglei State authorities to educate their citizens on the dressing code, if at all, there is any clause, in their state constitution that talks about the dressing code.

We are in a country that operates under systems, and any activities being done in each state must be in tandem with national government policies or regulations. The inappropriate implementation of the law in the state would affect the national government too. No state should impose a law that is not applicable to the national government. For instance, how many women and girls would be stripped in Juba if such an order were to be applied here?

We are also aware that each state government has got different constitutions based on the prevalent cultural values, but this should not be contrary to the transitional constitution of South Sudan (2011) and amended.

The Jonglei State authorities need to work according to the law, or if there is no law or regulations that govern women’s dressing codes, then it should first pass that bill to make it legal so as not to lock heads with their citizens.